5 who attended crowded high school basketball game die from coronavirus

Five men who attended an Indiana high school basketball tournament in March have died after contracting coronavirus, and at least a dozen others fell ill following the four-game bonanza.

Jim DeSalle, Paul Loggan, Larry Rush, Roscoe Taylor III and Charles Johnson have all passed away in recent weeks following their attendance at a March 6 game at Lawrence Central High School in Indianapolis where 2,800 spectators packed out the stands.

The event went ahead despite confirmation of a COVID-19 case in the state that morning, coming out of Community Health North, just four miles away from the school.

It’s unclear where the men contracted the virus but it’s noted there were plenty of hugs, handshakes and high fives at the sectional semi-finals. The NBA suspended their season the following week. Indiana didn’t lock down until two weeks after the high school sectional.

Loggan, 57, was an athletics director at North Central and alongside counterparts from Warren Central and Crispus Attucks, gave approval for the games to go ahead that evening. Loggan spent most of the game standing at the end of his team’s bench and was in the school gym for two hours.

Larry Rush, 67, was an Uber driver and was at the game supporting Lawrence North.

Taylor, 43, was a cafeteria worker at Stonybrook Middle School and sat in the lower level of Warren Central’s section. His fever kicked in March 20 and he died April 5. His father Roscoe Taylor III, 66, also had the virus and died March 29.

Johnson, 78, was positioned three rows behind Warren Central’s bench alongside his wife Kay – who also fell ill but wasn’t tested.

Johnson attended games March 3, 6 and 7, plus went the grocery store and church that weekend before he started displaying symptoms. He died March 27 and Kay doesn’t know who had the virus first.

For the second game of the night, Jim DeSalle, 70, sat near North Central’s bench. Earlier in the day he was at a youth township game. The following night he was pictured clipping a piece of the sectional net.

At the time of the first case – an individual who had recently returned from Boston -the Indiana community was not considered to be at high risk of contracting COVID-19.

Lawrence North assistant Jim Stanbrough, 64, fell ill after sitting at a table with DeSalle the following night after the games wrapped up.

Other staff at Stanbrough’s school sat at other tables.

Stanbrough felt sick immediately after the dinner, and on March 10 went to the doctor where he tested positive for the flu. He was in and out of the emergency room March 17 and 19 and tested positive for coronavirus March 23.

DeSalle died April 1. Stanbrough was readmitted hospital on April 2 and stayed there for six days after suffering blood clots in his lungs and legs. He had no underlying illnesses.

His wife Marta also contracted the virus but her symptoms were milder and included loss of taste and smell.

Fellow Lawrence North Staff Gerad Good, 49, fell ill with fever four days later. He has asthma and was sick for 16 days but the virus didn’t go into his lungs. He lost 22 pounds.

Khyrie Abdullah, 33, wasn’t at the March 6 game but attended the tournament the previous two nights.

Abdullah, a track coach at Lawrence Central and assistant football coach at Lawrence Central, was in hospital by Mach 16 and on a ventilator March 19. He stayed on the breathing machine 13 days and tested positive for the virus in the meantime.